Do you need your polling card to vote in today’s Scottish Parliament election?

With polls open across Scotland, voting in person is simpler than many realise

Polling stations across Scotland are open today (May 7) from 7:00 am until 10:00 pm, giving voters all day to cast their ballot in the Scottish Parliament election. If you’re registered to vote, you should already have received a poll card in the post telling you when to vote and which polling station to attend.

But despite what many people assume, you do not need to bring your poll card with you in order to vote in person. As official guidance from the government website clearly states: “You can still vote if you’ve lost your poll card. You do not have to take your card with you to vote.”

The key thing is that you can only vote at the polling station listed on your card. If you are unsure where to go – or never received your card – you should contact your electoral registration office to confirm your polling place. If you need to do this, the number for your electoral registration office can be found here on the government website.

For Holyrood elections, voting in person is extremely straight forward, as all you need to place a vote is yourself. Additionally there is no requirement to present photo ID in Scottish Parliament or local government elections, unlike UK general elections.

This means that when you arrive at your polling station, the process is simple. You just need to give your name and address to the staff inside, who will check your details and hand you a ballot paper. You can then head to a booth, follow the instructions on the ballot paper and cast your vote.

Do you need to bring a pen?

The quick answer is no as all polling stations will provide what you need.

The Electoral Commission says pencils are handed out at the polling stations. They say pencils are usually supplied for practical reasons including cost and reliability, and stress that “there’s no reason to be concerned” about vote tampering if you vote in pencil.

In a video posted last year, the Electoral Commission also warned that using a pen can sometimes create problems if the ink smudges.

“Ink from a pen might smudge when you fold your ballot paper in half, causing your vote to be unclear, or your cross might have rubbed into a second box in an election where you can only vote for one candidate which would then disqualify your vote,” a spokesperson for the organisation said.

That being said, voters are able to bring their own writing equipment if they prefer and “you don’t have to use the pencil that the polling station provides”.

The most important thing is simply getting there before polls close at 10:00 pm – with or without your polling card.